Prayer is, at root, simply paying attention to God.
In between these Comings we have the end times or era of the Church, in which the Church ministers reconciliation to the world until the great and terrible Day of the Lord, the Day.
Yet, the Lord promises to return in glory to judge the world on love, as He makes clear in his discourses on the Kingdom (Matthew Chapters 13 and 25).
In the Gospel the Lord shows us that His first coming was in humility, as a Servant, to free the world from sin.
Prayer is, at root, simply paying attention to God